Can’t Afford OpenAI’s $200 Research Bot? Here Are a Few Great Alternatives

OpenAI’s new Deep Research agent promises to transform how users collate data online by autonomously browsing the internet, analyzing responses, and delivering comprehensive documents on any topic.

The AI company showed off its capabilities by tackling everything from ski purchase recommendations to advanced biology papers.

But it’s not for the poor. OpenAI limits access to Pro users who shell out $200 monthly for the privilege.

There’s a reason behind the high price: “It is very compute-intensive and slow, but it’s the first AI system that can do such a wide variety of complex, valuable tasks,” Sam Altman tweeted.

Yeah, well, that’s not entirely true. There have been a few options in the market for months.

From open-source projects like the AI Scientist to closed-source projects like Gemini’s Deep Research, users have been able to leverage AI for complicated research for a while now.

Those unwilling to pay the premium and those with a bit of creativity can achieve similar—or better—results at a fraction of the cost, or free.

Here are some of our top picks for the budget-conscious:

Google Gemini: The 90% Discount Option

Google didn’t wait for OpenAI to make its move. The tech giant rolled out Deep Research to Gemini Advanced users in December for $20 per month.

For that price, Gemini users get access to Gemini Ultra, Gemini’s Deep Research Agent, 2TB of cloud storage, and the ability to build personal agents or “gems”—similar to OpenAI’s GPTs.

“Deep Research uses AI to explore complex topics on your behalf and provide you with findings in a comprehensive, easy-to-read report, and is a first look at how Gemini is getting even better at tackling complex tasks to save you time,” the company said in an official announcement.

Unlike OpenAI’s restrictive approach, Google threw away query limits entirely. While OpenAI planned to cap Plus users at 10 monthly queries and Pro users at 100, Gemini users get unlimited research requests.

That means Google’s tool offers 10 times more value at 10% of the cost.

Decrypt tested the tool and the research process mirrored OpenAI’s approach. Users input their topic and get a research plan, just like with ChatGPT. But Gemini users must tweak the plan before letting the AI loose on the web, unlike OpenAI’s approach which simply asks the users a few questions before the research.

When it comes to sources, Gemini played it safe. Our tests showed the model consistently favored established scientific publications and reputable news outlets over smaller sites or blogs.

The research process took its time—usually a few minutes—as the agent combed through dozens of websites according to its plan.

For example, we asked the model to do some research on the Nvidia Jetson Nano. In 3 minutes it scraped through 40 websites and provided a 6-page report on the technology, how it worked, its potential, some of the most important competitors, and other pieces of information

One huge advantage of using Google over OpenAI is that Gemini is deeply integrated with Google’s ecosystem. Users can export their research straight to Google Docs, making it easier to build on the AI’s findings. (No integration yet with other tools in the Google suite such as Sheets.)

Overall, this research agent and NotebookLM are probably two of the biggest hidden benefits that Google has to offer.

You.com: A Research Agent For Those Who Favor Speed Over Depth

You.com may not be the most well-known AI site in the world, but it is not to be underestimated.

The four-year-old startup, backed by an impressive roster of tech investors, built its reputation as a Perplexity competitor in the AI-powered search engine space.

It’s not quite a unicorn—yet. You.com’s parent company, SuSea Inc., raised $50 million in its latest funding round, pushing its valuation from $700 million to $900 million.

You.com was at the front of the pack among AI companies offering research agents, in November 2024.

“Enabling AI to analyze up to 200 sources per query and employ PhD-level research methodologies represents a shift in how AI conducts research,” the company said in an official announcement. “We envisioned the AI as a diligent student enrolled in a PhD-level class, doing its homework before crafting a final thesis.”

Its research assistant took a stripped-down approach. Instead of OpenAI’s methodical planning phase or Google’s tweakable research outline, You.com cut straight to the chase.

Users typed their query, and the model delivered results, sometimes in mere seconds but never longer than a few minutes. By comparison, the results shown in OpenAI’s demo indicate that its research agent took several minutes to respond, with one instance taking nearly 25 minutes to provide a briefing

This speed-first approach comes with trade-offs. You.com’s reports typically ran two to three pages—shorter than its rivals but dense enough to provide a solid foundation for further research. The platform offered three free daily uses before requiring users to switch to a different model.

The simplified process makes You.com an ideal starting point for research projects. While it might not match the exhaustive depth of OpenAI or Google’s offerings, it proves that expensive subscriptions aren’t always necessary for effective AI research assistance.

Bottom line: You.com is the only big platform that offers a free AI research agent to its users—and that is a pretty sweet treat.

Deepseek R1: The Free DIY Powerhouse

Yes, this one is from China, and it’s not exactly an Agent—but it may be a nice workaround for users willing to put in extra effort.

OpenAI’s flagship reasoning model lacks web browsing capabilities. Deepseek’s R1 filled that gap as the only reasoning model with built-in internet access.

This is something we can use to our advantage to generate comprehensive and detailed research—for free.

The setup demands more user input but delivers surprisingly robust results.

Start by activating Deep Reasoning to engage R1 by simply clicking on the corresponding button in the text box—a critical step, as the default Deepseek V3 focuses more on creative tasks, akin to GPT-4o instead of OpenAI o1.

With web search enabled and the reasoning turned on, all that’s required is to feed the model detailed instructions on what to search for, ideally structured in the form of a research plan or a set of guidelines.

We tried Deepseek for research and it was very transparent. R1 showed its work and thought process in real time.

It was possible to watch it breaking down queries, outlining approaches, and explaining why certain information mattered. This peek behind the curtain could help researchers fine-tune their instructions on the fly and understand what’s going on in the model’s digital brain.

The initial output matched You.com’s scope— a concise report with solid sourcing.

But R1’s real power showed up in follow-up queries. Drill down into specific sections, request more technical details or beginner-friendly explanations and, in general, guide the model toward the research.

You can iterate with the model and ask it to elaborate on specific topics consistently, instead of waiting half an hour for a report and making it research everything again.

In our test, an initial 3-pager was expanded to over 25 pages of factual, accurate, and relevant content, all within the scope of the topic we researched.

While it required more hands-on guidance than point-and-click alternatives, Deepseek R1 proved that effective AI research assistance doesn’t need a monthly subscription.

Honorable mentions: Beyond these major players, there are a few other tools that have carved out niches in the AI research space. Beago AI and Perplexity Pro gained traction by focusing on follow-up questions, helping users uncover unexpected angles in their research topics. You might check out an open-source solution called Agent Laboratory, which was a collaboration between Johns Hopkins University and AMD.

Edited by Josh Quittner and Sebastian Sinclair

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